Excellent summary of where we are now with regard to emerging SARS-Cov-2 viral variants. Well worth reading / studying in full, opening paragraphs pasted below.
A Guide to Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-o...variants-68387
Scientists across the world are closely tracking the spread of mutations in the coronavirus and investigating whether they could render current vaccines less effective.
SARS-CoV-2 is no Ferrari among viruses when it comes to mutations. Scientists reckon that its 30,000-base RNA genome acquires around two single-letter mutations a month, a rate around half as fast as influenza and one-quarter the rate of HIV. But allowed to multiply and jump from body to body for more than a year, SARS-CoV-2 has inevitably flourished into a genetically diverse tree branching into countless different variants.
Many variants—defined by a specific assortment of mutations—are relatively unremarkable. But scientists have been keeping a close watch on three rapidly spreading variants—first identified in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil—which harbor an unusual constellation of mutations. They all share a mutation called N501Ythat affects the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, which the virus uses to clasp onto human cells’ receptors and enter them. That mutation replaces SARS-CoV-2’s 501st amino acid, asparagine, with tyrosine, potentially allowing it to bind more tightly to ACE2 receptors, studies in cells and animal models suggest.
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A Guide to Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-o...variants-68387
Scientists across the world are closely tracking the spread of mutations in the coronavirus and investigating whether they could render current vaccines less effective.
SARS-CoV-2 is no Ferrari among viruses when it comes to mutations. Scientists reckon that its 30,000-base RNA genome acquires around two single-letter mutations a month, a rate around half as fast as influenza and one-quarter the rate of HIV. But allowed to multiply and jump from body to body for more than a year, SARS-CoV-2 has inevitably flourished into a genetically diverse tree branching into countless different variants.
Many variants—defined by a specific assortment of mutations—are relatively unremarkable. But scientists have been keeping a close watch on three rapidly spreading variants—first identified in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil—which harbor an unusual constellation of mutations. They all share a mutation called N501Ythat affects the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, which the virus uses to clasp onto human cells’ receptors and enter them. That mutation replaces SARS-CoV-2’s 501st amino acid, asparagine, with tyrosine, potentially allowing it to bind more tightly to ACE2 receptors, studies in cells and animal models suggest.
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